Southwest Museum of
Engineering,
Communications and Computation.

Our Mission: Preserving Engineering,
Communications and Computation History"We seek the three dimensional artifacts, the
papers and
thoughts of those who pioneered the technology."

Join Our Quest!

Welcome to the Electronic home of the Southwest Museum of
Engineering, Communications and Computation. We are a privately funded
group.

The Museum offices are located in the old Coury
House in Historic Downtown Glendale in a section known as 'Catlin
Court'

Our Address is:

Coury House / SMECC
5802 W. Palmaire Ave
Glendale AZ 85301

Normal hours are 12:00 to
3:00 Tuesday through Saturday
However, we are involved in productions and news projects
at times which can pre-empt floor hours. ALWAYS CALL FIRST! There are times we go out to do
lectures or emergency artifact
retrieval and may not be onsite.

We may be contacted via telephone
623-435-1522 If we are not in, or are conducting a tour, please leave a
message with a good description and we will return the call.

Enjoy your visit here!

Ed Sharpe Archivist for SMECC

The
topics on this page are just a small amount of what is on
this site... See all the links above and spend a few days
exploring everything!

Educational Television came to Omaha and our campus with the October debut
of Channel 26, a product of the Metropolitan Omaha Educational Broadcasting
Association, and a tenant of the University. Local ETV is now broadcasting
both adult and children's shows, both day and evening. Dr. Paul Borge doubles as
Station Manager and director of the OU radio-TV sequence. More
HERE

See this article that will introduce
you to the facility north of our border.

See huge blowups of the photos too!

Earthbound
Misfit is the story of Jerry Foster, a pioneer in the field of
news helicopter pilots. What began a routine flying job reporting
traffic for a local TV station, soon became much more, as Jerry
began reporting news stories as well. His former training as a
paramedic for the AMES project (for which he was Chief pilot), and
his association with several law enforcement agencies, also
allowed him the opportunity to help with rescues and recoveries.
Very often, instead of just reporting the story, Jerry Foster was
the story. The book also covers Jerry’s early life, and the
demons that followed him for years, as well as his life after 20
years in the TV business. It covers his fall from grace, and his
years of reclusiveness, before venturing out into the world of
Facebook and discovering that he was still loved by many.

Jerry
Foster at Authors @ the Teague

By
Bette Sharpe Glendale Daily Planet

"It
ain’t braggin’ if you’ve done it!"

Jerry
Foster at his Authors @the Teague book signing on Saturday, March 8,
2014.

The name
Jerry Foster is a familiar name and face to those who lived in the
Valley in the 1980s.Foster was
one of the first pilots to regularly report the news, traffic and
weather while also piloting a gyro plane or helicopter.His skills as a helicopter pilot allowed him to work closely
with law enforcement with search-and-rescue missions.His involvement in several rescues made him part of the story,
giving him lots of positive attention from viewers but also a lot of
critics.

News
ratings were good and management knew a ratings maker when they saw
one.Traditional journalist saw
a challenge to traditional news reporting.While the FAA did not care for Mr. Foster’s high-flying style
and set out to ground him.Elementary
school kids wanted him to visit their school, because he would land in
his helicopter!

Pilots
have their swagger and anyone who makes it to sixty and beyond knows
it was not always easy and not without getting a few bumps and scraps
along the way. Jerry Foster admitted he is a “hot dog”.In his memoir, “Earthbound Misfit: Jerry Foster”, with Dee
Dees, he shares his story, bumps, scrapes and all.

Judging
by the audience at Velma Teague on Saturday, he is loved and admired,
still, by many. Some of the attendees saw Jerry when he came to their
schools in the 80's!

“He
just does things with a helicopter that a man in his right mind just
wouldn't do.

But he
does it so well he’s perfectly safe.”

Senator
Barry Goldwater – 1988.

---
“Earthbound Misfit: by Jerry Foster”, with Dee Dees is available
at Amazon.com or at local book signings

Bette
Sharpe/Glendale Daily Planet no. 5281.

Jennifer
Machamer is getting her book signed by Jerry Foster.Foster said on Saturday, March 8, 2014 during his book signing
that one of his most positive memories are of his many visits to
elementary schools and the kids.One
of many school visits he made was to Jennifer Machmer’s class.“It ain’t braggin’ if you’ve done it!”… Jerry
Foster.

“Earthbound
Misfit: by Jerry Foster”, with Dee Dees is available at Amazon.com
or at local book signings.

Bob Vache, 45, Sports Director
of KTAR Radio
and Television
was killed early Saturday morning, January
17 in
a one car automobile
accident
at 26th Street
and Washington
in Phoenix.

A native
of Phoenix - educated at Tolleson
High School and
Phoenix College
- "Vash" began
his illustrious
career in' 1942.
He joined
the staff of KTAR
in 1953
where he broadcast
sports programs
and
play by play descriptions until being named
program director of Channel
12 (KTAR) TV in 1957. Coupling
sports broadcasting
with his
executive duties, Vache
continued
as the voice
of Arizona
State and
University of Arizona
broadcasts.

A desire
to return to
full-time sports reporting
culminated in 1962
when Bob returned
to his
first
love-sports.

In the
8 years
which followed,
Vache
was named Arizona's outstanding
sports broadcaster an
unprecedented five
times by
the
National Association Of Sportswriters
and Broadcasters. When
the Phoenix Suns National Basketball
Association franchise was
granted
in Phoenix, Bob was logically assigned as the
"Voice
of the Suns"
on KTAR radio
and TV.

A pilot with the Army
Air Corps in World War
II, Bob
remained in the Air
Force Reserve
after his discharge rising to the
rank of
Lt. Colonel with
the
302nd
Air Rescue Squadron.

He is
survived by
his wife, Bettie
and their
two children, Marilyn
18 and son
Tommy 13.

The following is a portion of Bill
Stull's newscast on Channel 12
which was broadcast the night
following Bob's death.

". . .
a sportsman, a gentleman
and a friend. As a thorough and dedicated craftsman Bob set
standards that the
rest
of us
will never live up to.
Few men in broadcasting have
earned
the respect which
we felt
for him. He
was, in every sense
of the word, a professional. Bob Vache
was indeed
a sportsman, a true
gentleman and an irreplaceable friend.
The words fit
Bob
Vache. The hard part, and the still
unbelievable part,
-the
word was."

May
we all add our
endorsement to Bill's words.

The Staff and Management of KTAR

This KTAR Radio and Television
newsletter from February 1970 containing this article now resides in
the Ray Lindström Collection at SMECC - www.smecc.org
- SMECC endeavors to get as much Arizona Broadcast History online as
we can. If you have old documents and photos please contact us at
623-435-1522 or email us. Do you have a drawer full of old photos
and a scanner? Fire it up and lets get them online! - Ed#

Tammy Buckallew gave SMECC the family Entertainment console. This
is an interesting unit due to the wire recorder that is in it with the
Telechron Clock timer! You could set it to record your favorite
radio show just like the home VCR....

Any other owners of these units out there
with information or stores to share? Drop us an email HERE
--- Ed#

SMECC Congratulates Paul Taylor on his
induction
into the 2013 RIT Innovation Hall of Fame!

Paul
Taylor 2013 RIT Innovation Hall of Fame

Paul Taylor quite literally changed the life experiences of
deaf and hard of hearing people. Paul saw an opportunity to
combine Western Union teletypewriters with modems to create the
first telecommunications devices for the deaf, known as TDDs or
TTYs. But he didn't stop there. He then helped to create a network
of these devices, as well as using them to launch local telephone
wake-up services for the deaf and the nation's first telephone
relay system for the deaf, which he expanded to a statewide
system. RIT was fortunate to welcome Paul as chair of the
engineering support team at the National Technical Institute for
the Deaf in 1975. He remained on our faculty for 30 years,
continuing to innovate and advocate in telecommunications for the
deaf.(http://youtu.be/U2_skVb8Qpw)

Bob
Schieffer to Receive Walter Cronkite Award

PHOENIX,
Ariz. (May 21, 2013) – Bob Schieffer, the award-winning CBS News
correspondent and longtime anchor of “Face the Nation,” will
be the 2013 recipient of the Walter Cronkite Award for Excellence
in Journalism, Arizona State University announced today.

Schieffer
will accept the 30th annual award, given by the Walter
Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication, at a
luncheon ceremony Oct. 29 at the Sheraton Phoenix Downtown Hotel.

“Walter
Cronkite is who I wanted to be when I was a young reporter,”
Schieffer said. “He is who I still want to be so winning an
award with Walter’s name on it means as much to me as any
recognition I have ever received.”

CBS
News President David Rhodes said "there's nobody better than
Bob in this business, and nobody better to work with, too."

Schieffer
is the network's chief Washington correspondent and also serves as
anchor and moderator of “Face the Nation,” CBS News' Sunday
public affairs broadcast. He contributes regularly to “The CBS
Evening News,” where he served as interim anchor in 2005 and
2006.

With
56 years of reporting experience, Schieffer may be the most
experienced broadcast reporter in Washington. He has spent the
past 44years reporting on politics and government for CBS, serving
as the network’s chief Washington correspondent since 1982 and
moderator of “Face the Nation” since 1991. He is one of the
few journalists to have covered all four majorbeats in the
nation’s capital – the White House, the Pentagon, the State
Department and Capitol Hill.

Schieffer
has moderated three presidential debates – in 2004, 2008 and
2012 – and has covered every presidential campaign and been a
reporter or anchor at every Democratic and Republican national
convention since 1972.

A
native of Austin, Texas, who grew up in Fort Worth, Schieffer is a
graduate of Texas Christian University and served three years in
the U.S. Air Force. He began his journalism career as a reporter
at the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, where in 1965 he became the first
reporter from a Texas newspaper to report from Vietnam.

After
returning from the war, he became news anchor at WBAP-TV Fort
Worth/Dallas and then joined CBS News in 1969. He served as the
network’s Pentagon correspondent from 1970 to 1974 and its White
House correspondent from 1974 to 1979.

He
began anchoring the CBS weekend newscasts in 1973 and continued
anchoring for the next 23 years.

Following
Dan Rather’s departure in 2005, Schieffer became anchor of the
weekday evening news, where he served for two years until
thearrival of Katie Couric. He then returned to the nation’s
capital and as moderator of “Face
the Nation.”

In
2005, TCU named its journalism school The Schieffer School of
Journalism in his honor.

Earlier
this year Schieffer was inducted into the Academy of Television
Arts Hall of Fame and was also given the distinguished service
award from the National Association of Broadcasters, an award that
has gone previously to former President Ronald Reagan and Oprah
Winfrey, among others. Schieffer is also a member of the
Broadcasting & Cable Hall of Fame and the recipient of
numerous awards, including seven Emmy Awards, one of which was for
Lifetime Achievement, and two Sigma Delta Chi Awards. The National
Press Foundation named him Broadcaster of the Year in 2002, and in
2003, the Radio-Television News Directors Association presented
him with the Paul White Award, which also recognizes lifetime
contributions to electronic journalism.

He
also is the recipient of the Leonard Zeidenberg First Amendment
award from the Radio Television News Directors Association and was
named a "Living Legend" by the Library of Congress.
Other awards include the International Radio and Television
Society Foundation Award and the American News Women's Club Helen
Thomas Award for Excellence in Journalism.

Schieffer
is the author of four books. The New York Times bestsellers
“This Just In: What I Couldn’t Tell You on TV” and "Bob
Schieffer's America," as well as "Face the Nation: My
Favorite Stories from the First 50 Years of the Award-winning News
Broadcast” and "The Acting President."

“Schieffer
epitomizes great broadcast journalism in the best tradition of
Walter Cronkite,” said Cronkite Dean Christopher Callahan.
“We’re thrilled to present him with this award and to have him
share with our students some of what he has learned over a long
and sterling career.”

The
Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication, named
in Cronkite’s honor in 1984, prepares the next generation of
journalists in both the time-honored fundamentals embraced by
Cronkite and the multimedia skills necessary to thrive as
journalists in the digital age.

Housed
in a $71 million state-of-the-art media complex in downtown
Phoenix, the school has been featured in both The New York Times
and The Times of London as a leader in 21st century journalism
education. It is the home of the Carnegie-Knight News 21
initiative, the Donald W. Reynolds National Center for Business
Journalism, Cronkite News Service, Cronkite NewsWatch and the New
Media Innovation Lab.

The IEEE Computer
Society chapter meeting was held on Wednesday, May 1st,
at the DeVry University, Phoenix Campus. located at 2149 W Dunlap
Avenue, Phoenix.

The speaker for this
meeting was Jim Irvine, Senior Staff Engineer, Intel. Jim’s
presentation was “Introducing Xeon Phi®, the New Intel 48 Core CPU”
Marking a new era in high-performance computing, Intel Corporation has
introduced the Intel Xeon Phi® coprocessor to bring unprecedented
performance for innovative breakthroughs in many areas of computing. The
ability to quickly compute, simulate and make more informed decisions has
propelled the growth of high performance computing (HPC) and analytics.
The growth has been driven by global business and research priorities to
more accurately predict weather patterns, create more efficient energy
resources, and develop cures for diseases among many other pressing
issues. With the breakthrough performance per watt and other new
attributes of the Intel Xeon Phi® coprocessor, Intel and the industry
will help proliferate high-performance computing beyond laboratories and
universities and achieve maximum productivity.

Jim
Irvine joined Intel in 1990 and has held a variety technical roles within
Desktop and Server engineering. He led the design team for Intel's
conversion from wire bond to C4 technology and architected the current
Intel(r) Xeon Phi® coprocessor package. He currently leads the next
generation Intel Many Integrated Core product Platform Architecture
Execution Board.

About the Phoenix Chapter of the IEEE Computer Society

The Phoenix Chapter of the IEEE Computer Society is a group of computer
professionals from the Phoenix Area that work in computer related fields.
Monthly meetings focus on technical topics of interest to our members and
are open to the public.

Time
went on and Ed ended up with a group of teletypes he was using to build a
history display on telecommunications for the deaf. Remembering back to
his conversation with Dan, Ed was curious as to what model Teletype the
Glendale PD had used. Dan showed Ed a photograph or an officer sitting in
front of a Teletype Model 28 KSR, a 5 level Baudot machine.

SMECC
likes to put things out at other museums for display so plans were made to
loan the police museum a teletype just like the one in the photo. Ed was
curious as to who the officer was and suggested that they try to find him
and pose him with the teletype unit at the museum sort of a before and
after photo!

Dan
Kallberg told Ed the officers name was Sal
Vetrano, and that the photo had been taken in the new (at that time!!)
police station. (torn down and the Civic Center stands on that ground
now!) Sal
had joined the Glendale Police Department in 1953 as a reserve officer,
then went on as a full time officer in 1956. Sal stayed on until 1970 when
he left the department.. Dan states "When Sal was an officer he
was the one responsible for starting up the PD's photo lab, maintaining
and controlling the records section of the PD and running the front desk
and assisting citizens when they came in to the Police Dept. Sal ran the
teletype machine which was connected to California, Nevada, Oregon, and
Arizona."

Armed
with that information Sharpe was able to start searching Sal out on the
internet and based on age ad some vague hints on prior locale found Sal
living in Leakey Texas and running Vinny's Pizzeria at over 82 years of
age!

Sal
will come to pose for a 'current' photo with a teletype when he comes to
Arizona to visit his children he tells us.

The
teletype is all in place in the museum for you to visit and Dan Kallberg
the Curator states

"The
Teletype machine although slow by today's standards it was a fast was of
obtaining critical information about felony crimes that had just occurred
within the four corners area. The teletype also freed up the telephone
line at the police dept. for other incoming calls for service. Thanks to
the efforts of Ed Sharpe the Glendale Police Museum was able to obtain
this teletype machine for display. With Ed's help we were able to preserve
a small piece of history and put it on display so everyone could enjoy
."

Teletype on display! Note photo of Sal hanging
above the Teletype
A descriptive sign is being made telling about it. We have further
polished the unit up and gotten the white paint off the front of the
keyboard etc.

Comments (0) John Silva, who for nearly 25 years was KTLA-Los Angeles‘ chief engineer, died Wednesday night at age 92. Sam Rubin today on KTLA Morning News offered up a touching remembrance of Silva, a former Navy radar operator who was responsible for such innovations as the news helicopter (first introduced in 1958, Silva called it the “telecopter”), live news trucks and mountaintop antennas. He also engineered the first live Rose Parade broadcast. “It’s not an exaggeration to say that every television station in the world uses some form of one of John Silva’s ideas”, Rubin says. Here’s the segment, complete with great old footage (beware the
autoplay):

Ed Sharpe Director and Lead
Archivist for SMECC and
Sherri Collins, the Executive Director of the Arizona Commission
for the Deaf and the Hard of Hearing discussing SMECC Display
on Telecommunications History of Deaf and the Hard of Hearing.

Ed attended DEAFNATION/PHOENIX
2013 to gather input and
volunteers to assist on the History Project at SMECC in Glendale.

WANTED - SMECC in
Glendale Arizona is adding a section on
"TELECOMMUNICATIONS FOR THE DEAF AND
HARD OF HEARING AND DEAF - BLIND"

The National Air and Space Museum's Space History and Education
divisions, in collaboration with the French Embassy, will host a symposium
to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Telstar satellite, representing
the birth of global telecommunications.

The symposium will be presented in two parts. The first is a half-hour
satellite television connection between the Museum and the Pleumeur-Bodou
Telecommunications Museum in France to commemorate the first global
transmission of a television signal. Speakers include Secretary of the
Smithsonian Wayne Clough and French Ambassador to the United States François
Delattre.

The second part of the symposium features three sessions, with historians
and experts from industry and government, discussing major aspects of the
Telstar project and its impact on the development of global
communications. The event also will include footage from the original 1962
broadcast.

Telstar 1 launched on July 10, 1962 from Cape Canaveral and was the first
privately sponsored spacefaring mission. It handled a variety of
transmissions, including telephone, fax, data, still pictures, and
television signals, from several locations across the United States and
Europe.

Additional information on the program and the history of Telstar, is
available on a website
developed by the Embassy of France.

"Is wisdom wisdom only to the wise? How can we tell
wisdom from unwisdom? If deeds are important, then Harald Friis's
deeds show he must be wise, and many who have worked for him will
testify that he is. He prepared these few notes for a conference at
Seaview in September 1957. I have discussed them with him and added
comments, sometimes in his words and sometimes in mine. What I have
added is indented."

- JOHN
PIERCE

RECENT UPDATE -Check out the
Popular Electronics cover shot from 1966 and 2 page article just added May
18, 2012

All of
the manual is now there with exception of power supply
and some of the case assembly instructions.

Did you build a CONAR Model 800 TV
Camera back in the 1960's? Share those experiences with us!

First in Arizona to
report live from an effective hi-speed, maneuverable news platform,
Jerry Foster set records and got news to us. Sky-12 used a
newly developed Tayburn microwave platform that is reputed to be a
spin-off of military technology. At the station end there was an autotracking
antenna system that would follow Jerry around the valley (and
beyond) as he sped about, this system would 'follow' him and was the secret of what made the
Tayburn system so good.

In Arizona, KOOL Channel 10 claims
a first too. There had been an experimental point to point test
incorporating relay transmissions that grant them a claim to a
'first live from a helicopter', but these were limited as they
relied on a person holding a microwave transmitter out the
window of the helicopter pointed down to a fixed microwave
receiver at the ground... then cabled over to the remote truck that
would retransmit the signal to the station then to the transmitter
site to go out over the airwaves to your house.

We also can add that Bill
Close and Channel 10 news and engineering crew gloated over pulling
this first off... just in a very short time before the
SKY-12 Tayburn system was deployed.

Did it work? Yes, a signal
was sent... SO... was KOOL First? Yes, first signal - but alas
not as practical airborne news platform. Was it usable? Sorta!
If everything was connected, aimed properly and you had
time to set it all up... an airborne news report could be set to the
station

Jerry Foster is finishing up his
book "EARTH BOUND MISFIT" That will be released at he end
of summer.

Many questions will be answered and
facts explored by Jerry's book. We at SMECC will be putting together
not only more info on the Tayburn system from the engineering
aspects.

Controversial at
times? Indeed! Whether you loved or hated him, Pilot/Reporter Jerry
Foster helped transform the helicopter industry into what it is today.
Enjoy this video segment as Foster breaks his silence in a no
holds barred interview on "Flying with Chopper Rose" and takes
us on another wild ride down memory lane.
Ed Sharpe - Archivist for
SMECC

For
Previews of book chapters, interesting stories and some fun
photos also check out http://www.sky12.tv/

A flash from the past! - Ed Sharpe
Archivist for SMECC and Jerry Foster retired KPNX SKY-12 pilot and
reporter examine the Tayburn TNR-202A Airborne news relay system
omni-directional antenna mount from the original sky 12 helicopter
over 30 years ago... The dark metal portion mounted to the landing
skid on the bottom of the helicopter and the light colored portion would
deploy the omni antenna downwards when the craft was in flight... and
hopefully also raise it before landing! In addition, the skid
mount held the PA, a 2 Gigahertz power amplifier rated at 13 watts. -
A twin to this assembly was mounted on the other skid with a deployable
omni-directional antenna for receiving. Looking at the news
ad of the Sky 12 helicopter below you can see 2 omni-directional
antennas and the close up inset photo shows the unit that Ed and Jerry
are examining.

In the inset Photo and line drawing below, you will notice two
can-like items on the skid mount. These are forward and
rear facing 2 Gigahertz directional horn antennas. These were used to
achieve higher gain back to the Tayburn Auto tracking receive site
antenna.

Harriscope
- Flagstaff TV and Cable - TeleMation

We currently have an open history
project about on air television and cable
broadcasting in Flagstaff. There is a serious lack of
information in this area. Help? Please!? Also
will include radio in this also but main thrust at the
moment is TV and Cable as we have a tiny about of material to
start with.

If there is any of this old hardware around
we want it for the display here. We are also
interested in magazine and newspaper clippings related,
written memories or tapes. ... anything.

For starters...need
information on the following... here are some keywords..
and see the article below from 1969..

In
the TeleMation booth at the recent California Cable TV
Assn.
Convention, Ken Lawson discussed with Geoffrey Nathanson,
executive vice president of Harriscope Cable Corp., the new
TeleMation origination system to be installed at Flagstaff TV
&
Cable,
Flagstaff, Ariz., early this year. Robert Weisberg, right,
TeleMation Program Services president, will supply film
programming to the Harriscope-owned system.

FCC
opens door for AzCMF and Radio Phoenix to proceed with
construction permit, dismisses all objections to AzCMF
application filing.

Almost
1,500 days after AzCMF filed its application for a
construction application for a new full power FM station, on
October 18, the FCC ruled in favor of AzCMF and
Radio Phoenix on every point of objection that was raised
by American Educational Broadcasting (AEB). Essentially,
AEB was complaining the the FCC dismissed its application and
let ours proceed. Peter Doyle, chief of the Media
Bureau, sent a letter
to AEB in which he found that it had
failed to follow FCC procedures, had failed to properly appeal
the dismissal of the AEB application which had been filed on
top of our application, and finally, noted that even if AEB
had done everything in a correct fashion, that it still would
have been out because after two attempts, it could not correct
its faulty engineering.

AEB
is an affiliate of Educational Media Foundation, the largest
religious broadcaster in the United States. EMF has an annual
income of $88 million a year. The legal staff at AzCMF
took on this Goliath and beat it back. The ruling from the
FCC opens the door to the issuance of a construction permit by
the FCC, which will allow us to begin fundraising and planning
for a full power FM station.

AEB
and EMF still have many appeals they can file to continue to
block AzCMF from going on the air. However, the issuance
of this letter dismissing their claims is a major step forward
in bringing real community radio to Greater Phoenix. MORE

Debra L. Chernick, daughter of Helen
Chernick, age 88, contacted us at SMECC while researching her mother's part in Providence, Rhode Island's early broadcasting history. Debra came across an article we published by David Stackhouse where he described WJAR's Kiddie Radio Revue. Helen
Chernick, then Helen Epstein, participated as a young singer in the 1930's. After reading the article, Debra emailed us and upon our request, interviewed her mom on video and provided these materials that are scanned here.

NATIONAL TELEVISION
Servicemen's Week, a nation-wide tribute to the 100,000 technicians
who service the 34,500,000 television sets of the American public,
was inaugurated on March 7 at the close of NBC's unprecedented color
telecast of "Peter Pan." Read about this 1955 event>>HERE<<

This booklet has been prepared specifically for the use
of television stations, to acquaint them with the complete range of motion
picture equipment manufactured by the Bell & Howell
Company.

A while back a writer
under the employ of General Electric contacted me...

Take a look at
all the interesting info they have on these pages but also
here is what they quoted me on... some quotes are a
bit loose check with me before you go to press on
anything further. and we will tighten things up a bit!

This is fun,
computer history, Papa Spielberg and our 40th president!

....EdSharpe

Progress Reports

A look back at Ronald Reagan's speech to GE execs
at the dawn of the computer age

Celebrating the Centennial
Ronald Reagan & GE

Frontiers of Progress

On May 2, 1961, Ronald Reagan delivered a memorable speech at
the GE computer department’s “Frontiers of Progress” sales
meeting in Apache Junction, Arizona. His eloquent words about
computing and GE’s role in the industry’s brief history came
at an optimistic time in America and at the dawn of the automation
age.Less than a decade later, (In 1970) GE would sell its computer
division to Honeywell for $200 million. Still, the 1950’s and
1960’ was an exciting era of innovation in the nascent world of
computer technology, and Reagan’s speech personified that
excitement and sense of promise. for rest of article.........http://reagan.geblogs.com/frontiers-of-progress/

David Stackhouse in his short bio
told us about "Celia Moreau, who teaches piano and singing,
to youngsters, was long a featured personality on WJAR with a Kiddie's Revue every Saturday morning that caused all dials to be turned. to
920. They sang, danced, played; and many have gone on to musical futures,
others in the musical or teaching business.

Soon... you will see photos from
one of the performers life and hear an exclusive interview with her
telling us about those days of the 1930s... Soon!
Stay tuned!

DAGE Model 520 Television
Cameras

We have two of these DAGE 520 Cameras
here in the museum's collection.

Janet Napolitano back when she was Governor of Arizona and Ed Sharpe Director
and Lead Archivist for SMECC at Bitzee Mama's Restaurant in downtown
Glendale Arizona. I was fortunate to have some time to discuss
science, technology and education with Janet at the breakfast table. Unknown
to many, Janet coded in FORTRAN at Sandia High School in Albuquerque
New Mexico in her younger days!

PHX11,
the Phoenix government cable channel, required a JVC KY2000 and a
3/4 JVC U-matic portable recorder to portray the first equipment they used
to put City of Phoenix government activities on cable television

SMECC was able to assist them with the loan of equipment that is now on
display in the station lobby.(Click photo for larger view)

PHX11
began in 1984 as the city of Phoenix's government access cable channel
with a staff of four and five minutes of programming per week.

Today, the
award-winning PHX11 is one of the top local cable stations in the
country, reaching an estimated 320,000 households throughout the Valley.
It provides quality programs that educate, inform and entertain residents
24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Visit PHX11 at: http://www.phoenix.gov/11/phx11.html

Photo: Jennifer Jones KPHO
and President of the Rocky Mountain NATAS Chapter and Ed Sharpe
of CouryGraph Productions/ Glendale Daily Planet /
KKAT-IPTV with 2007 Rocky Mountain Emmy(R) Award for the
production of "The Laura Graff Hit and Run Accident -
Search For The Driver" .(Photo
by Bette Sharpe)

Ed Sharpe ofCouryGraph Productions / Glendale Daily Planet / KKAT-IPTV in
Glendale, AZ was award a 2007 Rocky Mountain Emmy(R)
Award for the production of :
"The
Laura Graff Hit and Run Accident - Search For The Driver"
. READ MORE

In Memoriam...James M. Early

Jim was a friend of the museum and a
mentor to me during the formation of it back in the days it occupied some
shared space with Computer Exchange Inc. in the old industrial part on
Desert Cove in Phoenix Arizona.

Jim wrote several articles and
spent extensive time editing on Volume #2 and #3 of "VINTAGE
ELECTRICS.

His background at Bell Laboratories
proved invaluable when we cataloged some of the more obscure
artifacts in the K. D. Smith Collection. K. D. Was his first supervisor
at Bell Laboratories.

His words always possessed wisdom and
humor, Jim we will miss hearing you...

This certificate prepared my father to
embrace the new electronics invention... RADAR. Just prior to
the war breaking out, he completed electronics training in March
1941. - Ed Sharpe Archivist for SMECC

Display case at the Southwest Museum of Engineering,
Communications and Computation (SMECC) which houses part of the museum's
computer collection. Built from a donated sliding glass door and the
rest from reused Valley West Mall Material. The VWM components made the
top, sides, back slat wall, support beams trim strips etc....

The days of
spending thousands for software to automate is over!- Ed Sharpe archivist for SMECC

Visit the old HP2000F/ 2000 Access timeshare system on display At
SMECC!

This system was originally bought by Maricopa Community Colleges and
then when retired was run as a time share system in the early days at
Computer Exchange Inc. that was located In Phoenix Arizona. Eventually
this computer became a display artifact there when it was replaced by a HP 3000
system.

Below is an old shot form the computer room at Computer Exchange Inc. Phoenix
Arizona. This is right before we got the HP 3000 systems.

click image for larger view!

Ed Sharpe CEO Computer Exchange INC.

This is a 20 stack platter disc pack for
the
HP 2883 Disc Drive on the HP2000 Timeshare
System for Computer Exchange Inc.

Hp-3000 Series II System and Ed Sharpe

Think about it...

One thing all of us should consider; vintage electrical technology daily hits the land fills across America. Only if we make a dedicated effort, will the artifacts and literature of our technological history be preserved. It is up to all of us who know the history of an item to make sure that it will be kept secure for future scientists and engineers to study. We can not rely on the actions of our heirs to accomplish it, as they may not understand the implication that an artifact had on the development of a technology. It is up to you and me in the present life to accomplish this.

The museum is seeking items that would be of interest to the people who indulge themselves in research at our facility, as well as those younger folks who come just to find out how an old telephone or radio works. Please do not dispose of anything before contacting us! -EAS

We are always looking to buy books , paper, or
artifacts related to RADAR and RADAR Countermeasures to add to the
museum. Please contact us! Email here or 623-435-1522

Lking

Always
looking for items for display, or literature to add to our
reference library,

TV
on Wheels Book : - This is the first complete book ever written with tons of
information on video and audio production trucks. It covers every aspect
from satellite and microwave vans, remote pro audio trucks on up to the
newest ten million dollar HD slide out trailers you see at concerts and
Super Bowl games. Costs, technology, how they are built and designed,
accidents and a full history of broadcast trucks are covered. The book,
published in 2003, is a hard bound, glossy, coffee table quality book, 218
pages in length, with nearly 700 photographs and diagrams, most of which
are in color. Whether you are involved with one camera live shots,
satellite uplinks, or take part in the marquee events that require large
truck compounds this book celebrates the TV and audio truck industry. This
book explains the industry on three levels as well as a picture essay of
the business. It also provides nearly 70,000 words of narration to tie the
pictures into a story. Want to delve a little deeper into some of the
technical and production issues involved? The book has dozens of sidebars
that look a little further under the hood of this interesting industry.
From concept, to planning, through setup to air time the reader walks
through the process of performing television on location. Whether you are
building your own truck, retrofitting an existing truck or just plain
interested in mobile audio and video --this book packs a ton of real world
information between its covers. By Jim Boston & George Hoover : TV
on Wheels Only $99 plus $12 freight!Learn about
the history of remote trucks!

Coury House / SMECC
5802 W. Palmaire Ave
Call Us at 623-435-1522

The purpose of life is not to be happy. It is to be
useful, to be honorable, to be compassionate, to have it make some
difference that you have lived and lived well. -Ralph Waldo Emerson

"All men dream, but not equally. Those who dream by
night in the dusty recesses of their minds wake in the day to find that it
was vanity. But dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act
their dream with open eyes to make it possible." -T.E. Lawrence

BIO Ed Sharpe

- Ed Sharpe
always has been passionate about technology, even as a young boy. "When I
was a kid, as my compatriots were out throwing dirt clods at each other, I was
building radios," says the 50-year-old archivist of the Southwest Museum of
Engineering, Communications and Computation.

- As a
child, Sharpe soaked up as much information as he could about technology,
spending hours with adults who were knowledgeable about the field. Retirees,
in particular, proved to be incredible resources.

"They
were the best because they had time on their hands," Sharpe says, "and
you could go by after school and pester those poor guys and they'd teach you
anything you wanted to learn."

- Education
of the public on the history of technology is important.

"By
understanding where we came from, we have a better understanding of how to go
forward," Sharpe says.

- The
Southwest Museum of Engineering, Communications and Computation, in Glen­dale,
occupies 2,000 square feet of the Coury House, include a cross-sectional history
on RCA products such as radios and electron microscopes; a rural electrification
display that shows how American farms became electrified; an office-automation
display with phone switchboards and Dictaphone machines, military
communications, radar and countermeasures; and an early computer display that
has some of the first computers.

- Originally
a smaller-scale museumwas part, of
Computer Exchange Inc., a Phoenix business Sharpe once owned.

"Every
day artifacts that depict the history of engineering and science hit the
landfill," he says. "We need to preserve our technological
heritage."

-
The
Museum is located at 5802 W. Palmaire Ave., Glendale. Admission is free, and
tours are provided by appointment Tuesday through Saturday.

- Sharpe is a member of
the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS), Society of
Broadcast Engineers (SBE), Independent Feature Project (IFP) (IFP/PHX),
Investigative Reporters and Editors (IRE), Institute of Electrical and
Electronics Engineers (IEEE), Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ),
National Press Photographers Association (NPPA), Southwest Museum of
Engineering, Communications and Computation (SMECC) and other
associations.